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Leonard Peltier

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Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was convicted of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in a June 26, 1975, shooting on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment. Peltier became eligible for parole in 1993. On January 19, 2025, Peltier's sentence was commuted to indefinite house arrest by President Joe Biden shortly before he left office. On February 18, the date specified by the grant of clemency, Peltier was released and transferred to the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. In his 1999 memoir Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, Peltier admitted to participating in the shootout but said he did not kill the FBI agents. However, witnesses say he confessed, including Darlene Ka-Mook Nichols, who testified against him at trial. Human rights watchdogs, such as Amnesty International, and political figures including Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and the 14th Dalai Lama, campaigned for clemency for Peltier. At the time of the shootout, Peltier was an active member of AIM, an Indigenous rights advocacy group that worked to combat the racism and police brutality experienced by Native Americans.

Infobox

Born
(1944-09-12) September 12, 1944 (age 81)Belcourt, North Dakota, U.S.
Other names
Tate WiWikuwa, Gwarth-ee-lass
Movement
American Indian Movement
Children
9
Conviction
First degree murder of a federal employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 and 1114) (2 counts)
Criminal penalty
2 consecutive life sentences; commuted to indefinite house arrest

Tables

· External links
Preceded byMarsha Feinland
Preceded byMarsha Feinland
Party political offices
Preceded byMarsha Feinland
Party political offices
Peace and Freedom nominee for President of the United States 2004
Party political offices
Succeeded byRalph Nader
Party political offices
Preceded byMarsha Feinland
Peace and Freedom nominee for President of the United States 2004
Succeeded byRalph Nader

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